


Pizza Pie, Sweetie Pie

by NervousOtaku



Series: Writer's Block Short Stories And Plot Bunny Dump [15]
Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Pizza, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NervousOtaku/pseuds/NervousOtaku
Summary: After everything gets cleaned up and sorted out, Meis and Gueira— admittedly with little success— go job-hunting. At least, until a certain idiot drags them out for lunch.
Relationships: Gueira & Galo Thymos, Meis & Galo Thymos
Series: Writer's Block Short Stories And Plot Bunny Dump [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1472354
Kudos: 17





	Pizza Pie, Sweetie Pie

“Gueira! Meis!”

They both flinched at the cheerful yowl of their names, he was sure. And even with the warning clump of boots, they both staggered under a certain firefighter's bodily greeting.

“Galo...!” Gueira snarled, pushing the man in question off. “What the hell, 're ya tryin’ta kill us!”

Galo just laughed as Meis shrugged him off too. “Don't be like that! Anyway, what're you up to?”

“Job-hunting. Not that it's going well.” Meis answered as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Lio had lucked out with an executive city-planning type spot, not that Meis envied him. Paperwork sounded like a pain, and office meetings had to be boring as hell.

Galo reared back with a frown. “Why not?”

“Because it's flooded with everyone else and their resumes look better? Dumbass?” Gueira huffed.

Galo was still frowning. Crossing his arms, the firefighter declared, “If people are giving you trouble...”

“No, idiot.” Meis sighed, rolling his eyes. Galo had done a lot for the Burnish— ex-Burnish— and his stupid hero-complex could be endearing, but good grief. Lion sure knew how to pick them, huh?

“Hm. If you say so.” Galo murmured, sounding unconvinced. There were probably a lot of anti-Burnish— ex-Burnish— employers, but that genuinely wasn't their problem. Galo would know if it was, Meis thought, if only because Gueira would be ranting if that happened. But before he could voice that thought, the firefighter brightened and asked, “Have you guys had lunch yet?”

The question reeked of an idiotic plan. A glance to Gueira showed that he thought the same thing.

“Don't worry,” Galo grinned, flashing a thumbs-up, “It's a great place! Burning Rescue favorite! My treat!”

Before either of them could decline or object, Meis found that Galo had grabbed them both by the wrists and was yanking them along top-speed through the crowds. He had no clue how the firefighter managed. He and Gueira had to struggle along with the flow of the city, but Galo seemed to defy it. Was it the years of living in the wastes? Or did the city simply know to get out of Galo's way when the idiot was on the move?

Meis would not be at all surprised if it was the latter.

Before long— either it wasn't far or Galo was just that fast— they were standing winded in front of a pizza parlor with outdoor seating and a big stone oven.

“Come on, you can't be that out of shape!” Galo chided, propping both of them up.

“You... shuttit... ya freak...!” Gueira wheezed. The bite Meis knew was there was lost in the breathless panting.

Before the idiot could reply, there was a cheerful call of, “Afternoon, Galo!”

Said idiot hauled both of them more upright, greeting, “Hey, Pops!” with an audible billion-watt smile.

Being held up allowed Meis to see a stout older man wearing an apron approaching. The owner of the pizza-place, at a guess. Presumably friendly with Galo, especially if this was actually someplace Burning Rescue frequented.

“Who might these two be?” the man asked, looking curiously at them.

“Meis and Gueira! Friends of Lio's!” Galo answered happily, ruffling their hair.

“Don't you ever do that again, you moron!” Gueira snarled, apparently recovering faster than Meis was.

The owner gave a hearty laugh. “Well, they look pretty exhausted. Why don't you pick out a table and I'll be right over with some drinks?”

After bolting through the city at the speed of Galo Thymos, someplace to sit and something to drink sounded nice. Said idiot all but carried them to one of the outdoor tables, still grinning like a maniac.

“You're... a downright menace...” Meis panted, slumping over the table as Gueira just about melted in his seat.

“If we weren't fast, lunch-rush would've started, and we never would've gotten a table!” the firefighter defended.

The owner's laugh sounded right before three glasses and a jug of lemonade were put on the table. “There'll always be room for Burning Rescue! This spot's just about reserved for you guys!”

... So it wasn't just that Burning Rescue liked this place, Meis reflected as he sat up to pour a glass of lemonade. This place liked Burning Rescue. He wouldn't be at all surprised if there was a Galo special on the menu.

“So, what'll you boys be having?” the owner asked as Guiera gulped down lemonade at a speed that'd give him hiccups for sure.

Before either of them could say anything, Galo held up three fingers. “Three volcano margarita pizzas, Pops!”

“Three?!”

“Ya idiot!”

“Don't worry,” the owner chuckled, “If you don't eat them, Galo certainly will.”

As the stout man moved away, Gueira quietly challenged, “What if we don't like this stuff, huh?!”

“Then you tell Pops what you like and he'll make it for you! He's great that way!” Galo smiled.

Meis sighed, sipping at his lemonade. If Gueira wanted to give himself hiccups, that was his business.

It was good lemonade, though.

As they waited for their order, Gueira pulled out the list of potential employers and began scratching out negatives. Meis listened to him grumble while he watched the firefighter. Galo seemed distracted, glancing frequently into the restaurant. To anyone else, the idiot was impatient for his food. But Meis survived by reading people. Galo was trying very hard not to be caught looking at something very specific.

Of course, before he could call Galo out on that, the owner reappeared with a stack of pizzas. Almost the second the plate touched the table, one of them vanished.

“Jeez! Slow down, ya animal!” Gueira barked as Galo wolfed down the pie. Kudos to the redhead for being able to speak, though. Meis was only able to stare in horror. Humans should not be able to inhale an entire large pizza like that.

The owner, on the other hand, just barked with laughter. “Oh, that's nothing! If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's holding back for you!”

They both instantly snatched several pieces. Gueira had challenged their liking the pizza, but they had both learned not to be picky years ago. If you were picky, you went hungry, and who knew when you'd get food next.

“And Galo,” the owner added in a gentle tone, “You can go talk to him.”

That made both of them pause, looking to the idiot in confusion.

“... He doesn't hate me?” Galo asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

“Anyone who hates you should get their heads examined, kiddo.” the owner smiled, and Meis suddenly felt like he and Gueira were intruding on something personal.

“But you both got arrested! And I couldn't stop Kray before...!”

... Oh.

“Go on, kid.“ the owner ordered, pointing with his thumb.

After a moment, the firefighter stood and moved into the shop. Meis watched Galo approach the man tending the oven— a wiry brunette with elbow-down prosthetic arms. Looking closely, Meis could see the ashy grey of Prometech scars, and he couldn't help but feel his skin crawl.

“... Are both of you...” Gueira trailed off awkwardly, looking at the owner.

“Burnish?” the man asked in a knowing tone. Meis dropped his gaze to the table. It was a touchy subject for some. He, Gueira, and Lio had only ever worn their flames with pride, but some didn't feel that way. “Nah. But sheltering Burning wasn't looked upon too kindly either.”

His head snapped up, exchanging a wide-eyed look with Gueira.

“You should've seen Galo when Freeze Force came.” the owner chuckled, shaking his head. “They were hauling us away and that kid was ready to fight them bare-handed. I think the only reason he didn't was that Aina held him back.”

Meis knew that Galo had never hated or been unkind to Burnish. He had regarded them as equals in combat, had arrested them without excessive force or harassment, had apologized when he insulted them, offered aid... but to hear that the idiot had just about tried to fight Freeze Force? Over the arrest of a civilian Burnish? Without his goofy little mech?

“... He's a goddamn idiot.” Gueira declared.

“Maybe so,” the owner laughed, “But he's our idiot!”

“Hey!” Galo whined, bouncing back to the table. “No talking about me behind my back! It's not fair!”

“You tried to fight Freeze Force without any tech or anything, we reserve the right to talk behind your back.” Meis informed the firefighter.

“Huh— Oh! They were being horrible evil jerks and they deserved it! They weren't doing their jobs— Speaking of!”

Meis felt like he would get whiplash just listening to the idiot. How did Lio keep up?

“Pops, you still looking for extra workers?”

Gueira spat out his lemonade, and Meis nearly choked on his pizza.

“Well, we need a new delivery-runner or two, and no one would mind a few extra hands in the kitchen.” the owner hummed.

“We don't need handouts!” Gueira half-yelled, probably in pain from spitting out his lemonade.

“Oh, the two of you need work?” the owner asked as the two idiots just about began to wrestle.

“Our job experience isn't the greatest... you'd probably be better off finding someone else...” Meis muttered sheepishly, picking at his pizza.

“That isn't a problem at all,” the owner chuckled, patting him on the shoulder, “It's an easy enough job, and we can always train you in anything you don't know.”

He was struggling to find an argument against this. It was work, it was an employer who was pro-Burnish— ex-Burnish— it was someplace Burning Rescue frequented, which would by extension mean Lio would frequent the place... plus it looked like the neighborhood was good. Meis wasn't an expert on neighborhoods or how good they were, but this one seemed nice enough... and if it was a popular place, that meant decent pay, right?

Ugh.

Chalk another one up for Galo, Meis thought as he bit into his pizza.


End file.
